Annie Turnbo Malone
August 9, 1869 – May 10, 1957
African-American businesswoman, Chemist, Educator, Inventor and philanthropist.
One of America’s first and most prominent African-American businesswomen.
The first three decades of the 20th century, she founded and developed a large and prominent commercial and educational enterprise centered around cosmetics for African-American women WHO ACTUALLY WAS THE ROLE MODEL for Sarah Breedlove (Madame C.J. Walker) Malone founded and developed Poro College cosmetology , a commercial and educational business focused on cosmetics for black women. first educational institution in the United States dedicated to the study and teaching of black cosmetology. The school reportedly graduated over 75,000 agents world-wide, including the Caribbean. By 1926, the college employed 175 people. Franchised outlets in North and South America, Africa, and the Philippines employed some 75,000 women. Malone had become a wealthy woman. The Philadelphia Tribune reported that in 1923 Annie Malone paid the highest income tax of any African American in the country. For instance, her 1924 income tax payment totaled nearly $40,000. However, despite her wealth, Malone lived conservatively and gave away much of her fortune to help other African Americans. She is one of America’s first major black philanthropists. Historians believe Malone deserves more credit for her devotion to helping African Americans gain financial independence and her generous donations to educational, civic, and social cause. Annie Turnbo Malone on On May 10, 1957 had a stroke and taken to for treatment at Provident Hospital in Chicago where she died at 87 years old. At the time of her death Poro beauty colleges were in operation in more than thirty U.S. cities. Malone is recorded as one of America’s first black female millionaire based on reports about her beauty and cosmetic enterprises, headquartered in St. Louis and Chicago.
HER LEGACY
St. Louis honors her memory with the Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center whose mission is “is to improve the quality of life for children, families, elderly and the community by providing social services, educational programs, advocacy and entrepreneurship.”